Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group. Testosterone is primarily secreted from the testes of males. In females, it is produced in the ovaries, adrenal glands and by conversion of adrostenedione in the periphery. It is the principal male sex hormone and an anabolic steroid. In both males and females, it plays key roles in health and well-being. Examples include enhanced libido, energy, immune function, and protection against osteoporosis. On average, the adult male body produces about twenty times the amount of testosterone than an adult female's body does.
In males, testosterone is synthesized primarily in Leydig cells. The number of Leydig cells in turn is regulated by luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). In addition, the amount of testosterone produced by existing Leydig cells is under the control of LH, which regulates the expression of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.[128]

Nutritional developers formulated Nugenix® with Testofen®, a key natural ingredient to help boost “free” testosterone along with resistance training. This key ingredient is carefully extracted from the fenugreek plant. A Testofen® study in Irvine, California indicated positive free testosterone-related results. Nugenix also includes L-Citrulline Malate, Tribulus, Zinc, plus Vitamins B6 and B12 to help promote overall health and performance.*

Miscellaneous: Sleep: (REM sleep) increases nocturnal testosterone levels.[142] Behavior: Dominance challenges can, in some cases, stimulate increased testosterone release in men.[143] Drugs: Natural or man-made antiandrogens including spearmint tea reduce testosterone levels.[144][145][146] Licorice can decrease the production of testosterone and this effect is greater in females.[147]
We should probably start with the elephant in the room: do these supplements increase testosterone? The answer is probably yes. There are some ingredients that help convince your body to produce more testosterone, but there’s a catch. Testosterone boosters aren’t actually great at boosting; that is, at pushing your testosterone levels above your healthy, normal balance. Boosters typically act more like restorers — helping bring low testosterone levels back to that healthy equilibrium rather than boosting you above normal testosterone levels. Just like how if you have anemia, taking a vitamin B12 supplement can help restore your energy and reduce fatigue, but if your B12 levels are good, a supplement won’t give you super energy levels to stay awake for three days — your body will likely just process (read: pee) out the extra.
When females have a higher baseline level of testosterone, they have higher increases in sexual arousal levels but smaller increases in testosterone, indicating a ceiling effect on testosterone levels in females. Sexual thoughts also change the level of testosterone but not level of cortisol in the female body, and hormonal contraceptives may affect the variation in testosterone response to sexual thoughts.[51]
^ David KG, Dingemanse E, Freud JL (May 1935). "Über krystallinisches mannliches Hormon aus Hoden (Testosteron) wirksamer als aus harn oder aus Cholesterin bereitetes Androsteron" [On crystalline male hormone from testicles (testosterone) effective as from urine or from cholesterol]. Hoppe-Seyler's Z Physiol Chem (in German). 233 (5–6): 281–83. doi:10.1515/bchm2.1935.233.5-6.281.
Fenugreek is often found in Indian, Turkish, and Persian cuisine. Multiple studies have found it to improve testosterone levels, and in particular, sexual performance. Scientists at Babu Banarasi Das University and King George’s Medical University in India have found that fenugreek improved testosterone levels. Testosterone levels increased for 90% of the volunteers, sperm morphology (the size and shape of sperm) improved for 14.6%, and more than 50% of volunteers experienced improvements in mental alertness, mood, and libido.
Zinc is little more of a nice-to-have ingredient than a must-have. It’s on our radar as an ingredient that possibly boosts testosterone levels, and while we couldn’t find enough supporting evidence that taking zinc would increase natural testosterone, low zinc levels have been connected to infertility. A low zinc level is also possibly a sign of hypogonadism. The closest support we found is in a study which found that people recovered from nutritional deficiency-related problems more quickly if they took a zinc supplement than those who did not. Zinc is available in many foods, such as oysters, fortified breakfast cereals, and red meat.
Steven Doerr, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Doerr received his undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He graduated with his Medical Degree from the University Of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colorado in 1998 and completed his residency training in Emergency Medicine from Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado in 2002, where he also served as Chief Resident.

Since then there have been many publications documenting suppressed testosterone and gonadotropins (Daniell 2006) in men using opioid medications whether these agents were administrated orally (Daniell 2002) or intrathecally (Finch et al 2000). Not only do opioids act centrally by suppressing GnRH, they also act directly on the testes inhibiting the release of testosterone by Leydig cells during stimulation with human chorionic gonadotropin (Purohit et al 1978). Although the large majority of men (and women) receiving opioids do develop hypogonadism, about 15 percent also develop central hypocorticism and 15 percent develop growth hormone deficiency (Abs et al 2000).

The University of Connecticut recently published findings stating that those who supplemented with whey protein produced less cortisol, a stress hormone, than those who did not supplement. Cortisol lowers production of sex hormones and is also responsible for belly fat formation. Ricotta is an excellent source of natural whey protein and amino acids, both of which are essential to muscle growth and avoiding the spare tire.
So if you’re intent on maximizing your testosterone levels, and/or you have applied all of the above and you’re still not satisfied with your results (which would be surprising) then you could try the below. I will point out that some of these tips may not have the scientific evidence to back them up like the previous points, but I can assure you that either I have or do use them (and have positive results), or a client has used them with pleasing results, or finally it is such a new conception that there isn’t enough evidence to prove it one way or another.
If a young man's low testosterone is a problem for a couple trying to get pregnant, gonadotropin injections may be an option in some cases. These are hormones that signal the body to produce more testosterone. This may increase the sperm count. Hedges also describes implantable testosterone pellets, a relatively new form of treatment in which several pellets are placed under the skin of the buttocks, where they release testosterone over the course of about three to four months. Injections and nasal gels may be other options for some men.